Chasing Thunder Read Online Free PDF

out of the frying pan right into the fire.
    A beautiful boy of no more than fourteen scooted over to where they had made camp. His hair was long and straight and would be the envy of any girl. His features were flawless, almost feminine when he smiled, and his body was hairless, thin, and slight. “Hey, Billy,” he said. “Got a dime, man?”
    Before Haley could wonder what this kid could possibly do with a dime, Billy was pulling a small bag from his pocket. They huddled together to do their business, and Haley turned to Tammy. “Drugs?”
    Tammy shrugged. “Like I said. You do what you have to. It’s not like you and I can go get a counter job at some fast-food restaurant, right?”
    Haley didn’t care for the sound of that. Getting a job was the cornerstone of her plan to start over. “Why not?”
    Tammy offered a benign smile for her clueless friend. “Little things like IDs, social security numbers, home addresses. Most kids are too young to have them. The older ones know better than to use them. You can’t stay lost if you’re in the system somewhere, baby.” She pulled a bottle of fingernail polish from her hoodie. It still had the price tag on it, but Haley was fairly sure the dark glittery liquid had been lifted, not purchased. Tammy kicked off her flip-flops so she could apply the polish to her toes. “Besides, you make more money in other ways anyway.” Having no polish remover or cotton swabs to remove the chipped coat of bright pink polish already on them, Tammy just swiped the darker color on top.
    “How long have you been here?” Haley asked softly.
    “Two years,” Tammy answered. “I was thirteen when I left. My parents caught me playing ‘I’ll show you mine if you show me yours’ with a girl from our church, so they sent me to some religious camp to pray away the gay.” She laughed. “I was gone the first weekend I got home.”
    “You’re gay?” Haley asked. It was the last admission she was expecting from someone who sold her body to men for money. “I thought you and Billy—” she began, and Tammy’s chuckle cut her off.
    “Were a couple?” Haley nodded and Tammy shook her head in answer. “There are no couples here. The best you can do is find what few people won’t screw you over. If you’ve found that, you’ve found home.”
    Haley glanced back at Billy. “And what do you have to give up in return?” she pondered aloud.
    “Labels don’t matter much here,” she said. “You do what you gotta do, and you do who you gotta do.” She pointed to the pretty boy who was now smoking the joint that Billy had rolled. “Todd isn’t gay, but he’ll drop to his knees and suck a dick in a heartbeat for his next fix. You kind of learn to separate yourself from it. You have to.”
    “I don’t know if I can,” Haley replied honestly.
    “I don’t know if you have a choice,” was Tammy’s matter-of-fact reply. “Look, you’re cute. Cute enough that guys won’t mind the bruises. Hell, they may even want to inflict a few more if the price is right. That’s your ticket, baby. Cash it in while you’re still young enough to get full value.”
    Haley said nothing as she watched Todd and Billy conclude their business. The beautiful boy was out the window in a flash, medicated enough to do what needed to be done for his own survival. Billy returned to their little circle. “Ten more dollars,” he announced softly, so not to draw attention. “Maybe by tomorrow we can get a room of our own.”
    Tammy nodded. Haley wondered why Tammy didn’t just head to the boulevard steps away from the dilapidated old building, but once a couple of tweakers climbed through the window, her question was answered. They were loud and erratic, bugging everyone in sight for money or drugs. By the time they reached their corner, Billy and Tammy had flanked her on either side, staking a claim that the newcomers seemed to understand, though their eyes flashed with the possibilities of what they